Category: Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors had a couple of loses towards the end of the first half of the season in the game against Denver and a game earlier against the Sacramento Kings. Why get bent out of shape over a team whose has won over 40 games before the All Star break. The have the best record in all of basketball. Their in the drivers seat to have home court in all of the post season.

Any criticism we give to the Warriors at this stage is nitpicking, keep in mind they had a great January and they had a really good February inspite of those two loses. January and February was spent without David West in the lineup and Zaza Pachulia there certainly not the key players on this team. That certainly hasn’t limited their ability to switch things up and go with a slightly bigger line up.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

The problem with the Golden State Warriors is not their not only a good team that lost a couple of games the problem is their so amazing that they lost a couple of games and thing get blown out of proportion. If they have a poor half against Sacramento or they drop a game by 15 to the Denver Nuggets we all get up in arms let’s just step back for a minute it’s the All Star break the Warriors are 47-9.

Between 1994-2011 the Warriors won 47 games in a season once. That was that 48 game season the year after the “We Believe” team 2007-08 season the was the only time in that 20 year time frame where they won more than 47 and won 48. The Warriors have 47 at the All Star break so let’s not get too bent out of shape out of shape and we have to have some prospective here and the Warriors are a great team.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, hoping to rebound from the blowout loss to Denver Monday night, did not play well for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Kings beat the Dubs in Sacramento and wanted to continue to play their game and beat the Dubs again. Their hopes would fall by the wayside as the Warriors came to life in the third quarter and blew out the Kings by a score of 109-86.

The first two periods of the game were very close. The Dubs led by 10 19-9 about halfway through the quarter. The Kings slowed down the Warrior offense, and the Kings closed the deficit to three as the period ended with Golden State leading 28-25. The Warriors were not able to get anything going in the second period. The Kings slowed the game down. They made a couple of key threes and were able to tie the game at 47. The Kings took the lead with a three to end the half leading the Dubs 50-47. They outscored the Dubs 25-19 in the quarter, and things looked ominous when the Warriors’ All-Star forward, Draymond Green was called for a double technical near the end of the half. Green was ejected from the game, and his loss sent a chill through the crowd as their best defender was not available to stop the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins.

The Warriors started slowly in the second half. The Kings held the lead at 57-54, and the fans were starting to squirm as they realized the Kings might beat the Dubs again. However, the Warriors showed the Kings and the fans why they are the best team in the NBA. They are not only the best offensive team in the league, but they are also the best defensive team, too. The Dubs went on a 28-2 run to blow the game wide open. Klay Thompson knocked down 17 as he went on one of his patented runs when everything goes in for him. The Warrior defense held the Kings to just 15 points in the quarter, and they scored 42 to end the third period with a 23-point lead 89-65.

Klay Thompson started the fourth quarter but was pulled very quickly after the game was well in hand. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant sat out the entire period. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr inserted his second and third unit players to finish the game. James Michael McAdoo. Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw, Damian Jones, and Briante Weber all saw several minutes of playing time. The Warriors win 109-86

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the Warriors improve to 47-9. The Kings, just a game and a half behind Denver for the eighth playoff berth in the Western Conference falls to 24-33. The Warriors extended the NBA record to 142 consecutive games without two losses in a row. The Warriors are off for the next 8 days for the annual All-Star break. The Warriors expect Zaza Pachulia and David West to return to action after the break.

Klay Thompson led the attack with 35 points. Klay remarked after the game that the team “got back to our brand of ball.” He credited his teammates as they “did a great job of feeding me.”Kevin Durant had a solid performance with 21 points, 7, assists, 7  rebounds, and 4 blocks. Steph had 13, 9 assists, 8 boards, and he blocked 2 shots. McAdoo had 7 points, and 2 blocks and Andre Iguodala scored just 5 but he, too, blocked two shots but was a force on defense, especially in the third quarter.Kerr said that Andre” had a huge impact in the game.” Matt Barnes led Sacramento with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Cousins was held to held to just 15. He scored 40 against the Lakers Tuesday night. Willie Cauley-Stein added 14 and Darren Collison finished with 14.

Steve Kerr was pleased that “our guys responded beautifully. We were in a tough spot without Draymond.” He also remarked that “our defense led to a lot of easy baskets.” He said “we love Draymond. He plays with an edge, and we need that edge. We sometimes struggle without him. We don’t want to take away the chip on his shoulder.”

The Warriors shot 48.8% from the floor and 37.1% from beyond the 3-point arc. They had another game with more than 30 assists(32 to be exact.) The Dubs lead the NBA in steals and blocked shots. They had 10 steals and 11 blocks in Wednesday night’s game. They had a 38-9 advantage in fast break points.

The Warriors are off until Thursday, February 23rd when they play the LA Clippers at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.

by Jerry Feitelberg

Kevin Durant, in an emotional return to the city where he played for eight years, led the Warriors to a 130-114 victory over the Thunder. The fans booed him during the introductions, they yelled at him every time he touched the ball, they cheered when he missed a shot and loved it when he was fouled hard by Andre Roberson. In the end, it was the Warrior firepower and great defense that won the game for Golden State. Durant’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, had a big night as he scored 47. However, Westbrook couldn’t do it alone, and the Dub’s defense was able to shut down the rest of Westbrook’s mates.

The Thunder led for most of the first quarter. They led 17-10 about midway through the period. The Warriors’ JaVale McGee helped the Dubs close the quarter on a 16-5 run and the Dubs led by six after 12 minutes of play. McGee knocked down eight for the Warriors. The Warriors showed a national TV audience how good they are by scoring 43 points and they increased the lead to 73-50 at halftime. The Dubs made 4 3-point shots, and they outscored the Thunder by 17. It was the most points the Warriors have scored in the second quarter all season. KD led the Dubs with 15, and Russell Westbrook had 21 for OKC. It was the 8th time this year that the Warriors reached 70 or more points in the first half and it was the tenth time that they have led by 20 or more points by the end of the first half.

OKC cut the deficit to 18 by the end of the third period. The Thunder tried to get closer, but the Dubs were able to answer every challenge. Things got hot in the quarter when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant got into a shouting match. Later in the period, KD and former teammate Andre Roberson had a very heated exchange as Roberson fouled KD hard on two different occasions. KD, as usual, kept his demeanor and answered by scoring 19 points in the second half.  The Thunder closed the gap to just 12 trailing 110-98, but the Warriors put the pedal to the metal and led by 20 with just a couple of minutes left to play. Steph closed out the scoring with a trey to increase the lead to 130-108, but the Thunder scored the last 6 points of the game. Dubs win 130-114.

Game Notes and Stats- KD Led the Dubs with 34 points, 3 assists, and 9 rebounds. Steph and Klay each had 26. Draymond Green had 6, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, and one block. JaVale McGee, who continues to improve and play well in the absence of Zaza Pachulia and David West, scored 16. Kevon Looney and James Michael McAdoo also played well filling in for the two injured centers. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston made significant contributions off the bench. Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 47 points and 11 rebounds. Westbrook, however, turned the ball over nine times.

After the game, when asked how he felt about his return to OKC and the game, KD said: “it was a fun game.” He was also asked: “does it mean anything to you when Westbrook was yelling at you?” Kd replied: “not all all.”

The Warriors are now 46-8 while OKC falls to 31-24. The Warriors are off on Sunday but return to action Monday night in Denver against the Nuggets. Game time is at 6 pm.

 

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies for the first time this season downing them by a score of 122-107. The Grizzlies are the only team in the NBA to have defeated the Dubs twice this year. They blew out the Dubs in Memphis earlier in the season, and then the Grizzlies overcame a 24-point deficit at Oracle Arena on January 6th to beat the Dubs in overtime. The Warriors did not want to lose a third straight game to Memphis. They came out with guns blazing and never trailed. The Warriors know that Memphis likes to slow the game down and force teams to play their game. That tactic worked when the Dubs lost in January. The Grizzlies, the worst shooting team in the NBA, always seem to find a way to stay close and refuse to go down. The Warriors’ Klay Thompson was on fire in the first period. Klay hit 4 3-point shots, and 14 points total in the first quarter. The Dubs finished the period leading 29-22. Steph Curry had 8, and Kevin Durant added 6.

The Warriors increased the lead to 12, but the Grizzlies kept coming back. Memphis cut the deficit to five 54-49 late in the quarter. The Warriors scored the last 8 points to increase the lead to 13 at halftime. Andre Iguodala hit a trey, and Draymond Green stole the ball from Marc Gasol and went coast-to-coast and made a slam for the exclamation point. Dubs lead 62-49 after 24 minutes of play. Klay led the Dubs with 18, Steph had, 11, KD 8, and Andre Iguodala kicked in with 15. However, Draymond Green was fantastic. He didn’t do much scoring, but he had 7 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and seven steals.

The Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 36-28 in the third quarter to lead by 21 after three periods of play. Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and JaVale McGee paced the Warrior attack. The Warriors continued to play excellent defense.  In the fourth quarter, the Warriors did not let down. They were well aware of their collapse in the January game at Oracle. They increased the lead to 26, but the Grizzlies would not go away. With 4 minutes left in the game, they trailed 115-101 and Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, was starting to get a little nervous. He didn’t have to worry. Draymond Green, who was the player of the game, made two more steals and the Dubs were able to seal the win. Warriors win 122-107.

Game notes and stats- The Player of the Game was Draymond Green. He scored just four points but made NBA history as he made a very rare triple-double. Draymond had 10 assists, 12, rebounds, and a franchise record 10 steals and was the first player to do it scoring less than 10 points. Also, and this is just the frosting on the cake, he blocked five shots. Quite a performance for the young man from Saginaw, Michigan. Klay Thompson finished the night with 36, Steph 18, KD 24, and Andree 22. The Warriors shot 50.6% from the floor and made 15 3-point shots. They also had another game with over 30 assists. They had 14 steals and 13 blocks. Excellent numbers as they lead the NBA in those categories. They were able to run the court as they scored 30 fast break points and another 38 in the paint. Michael Colney led Memphis with 20. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph each ad 17. Tony Allen had 15, Toney Douglas 11, and James Ennis finished with 10. The Warriors improve to 45-8 while Memphis falls to 33-23.

The Warriors play a back-to-back game Saturday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. Kevin Durant will be returning to OKC for the first time since leaving as a free agent to join the Warriors. The game should be very entertaining. Game time is at 5:30 pm.

 

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The Golden State Warriors, still smarting from a loss to the Sacramento Kings last Saturday, returned to Oracle Arena and defeated the Chicago Bulls 123-92. The Bulls, coached by Fred Hoiberg, were missing two big guns, Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade. Butler is dealing with a heel issue, and Wade was not feeling well. The Warriors’ Zaza Pachulia and David West were not available. West has a fractured thumb, and Pachulia injured his rotator cuff diving for a loose ball.

The Warriors led, for the most part, wire to wire. The Bulls tied the game twice early in the first quarter. With the score tied at 11, the Dubs finished the first quarter on a 19-6 run to lead 30-17. JaVale McGee led the Dubs with 8 points in the period. The Bulls played well in the second and third quarters. The Dubs outscored Chicago by just one point in the second quarter and finished the half leading 55-41. The Dubs scored 31 in the third but Chicago was able to stay close as they scored 29 and trailed 86-70 after three, The Warriors blew the game open in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson got hot, and the Dubs were able to cruise to a 31-point win.

Game Notes and Stats. With the win, the Dubs are now 44-8 for the season. Chicago falls to 26-27. Kevin Durant returned to form Wednesday night. Durant had a double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and one block. Klay Thompson had a big night, too. Thompson put in 28 points, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds. Draymond Green made 5 3-point shots and finished the night with 19 points. 6 assists, 8 rebounds. Steph Curry and JaVale McGee kicked in with 13 apiece. Kevon Looney, coming off the bench had 10. Briante Weber, making his NBA debut, scored a bucket late in the fourth quarter for his first two points as a Dub. Robin Lopez led the Bulls with 17. Taj Gibson (15), Jerian Grant (12), Rajon Rondo (12) and Nikola Mirotic (10) were in double figures for Chicago.

JaVale McGee, who has really improved, suffered a scary injury midway through the third quarter. McGee, attempting to block a Robin Lopez shot, Somehow was lifted over Lopez’ back and was slammed to the court landing on his backside. McGee appeared to be in a tremendous amount of pain when he went to the locker room. He returned to the bench after the start of the fourth quarter but did not play. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr remarked that JaVale “landed on his rear end and both cheeks hurt.”

“I liked the way the game ended.” Kerr was pleased that the team was able to blow out the Bulls after a very close game for 3 periods. “We had the upper hand with their 2 main guys out.” He was also pleased the Dubs “took care of the ball pretty well” as the team committed just 12 turnovers. The Dubs shot 55.2% from the floor. They were 15 for 30 in 3-point shots. They had 37 assists in the game. They were strong on defense as they outrebounded the Bulls 45-44. They had 9 steals and 5 blocks. The Bulls, not a team that shoots threes well made just 4 and they shot just 17.4% in that department.

The Warriors play the next three games on the road. They face the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night in Memphis. The Grizzlies are the only team in the NBA that has defeated the Dubs twice. The Warriors travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder Saturday night. The game will mark the return of Kevin Durant to the city where he starred for 9 years. On Monday, The Warriors will be in Denver before returning home next Wednesday to face the Sacramento Kings at Oracle. The Dubs will be seeking to avenge the loss in Sacramento last Saturday night.

Some still can’t believe Golden State lost last Saturday’s game to the Sacramento Kings and there are going to be some nights like that as this team comes into the second half of the season just after the All Star break two weeks ago. They won’t be able to win them all. Keep in mind that game went into overtime. Stephen Curry didn’t get a lot of open layups. That Warrior team was playing a little funky they weren’t getting their shots. It was a game when even head coach for the Warriors Steve Kerr got so frustrated that he got his first ejection as a head coach.

Was it the new arena they were playing in Golden One?, maybe they just couldn’t get adjusted. They weren’t shooting well Draymond Green was suffering from a knee injury before the game, maybe Green wasn’t quite on the ball. This was a game where the Warriors didn’t get too comfortable with themselves because when things don’t go right they don’t execute on the floor.

David Zizmor does the Golden State Warriors podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com take a listen below

by Jerry Feitelberg

Los Angeles- The Warriors beat the Clippers for the ninth straight time Thursday night by a score of 133-120 at the Staples Center. The Dubs were without Draymond Green(shoulder contusion), Zaza Pachulia(strained rotator cuff), Shaun Livingston(back strain), nd David West(fractured thumb). The Warriors JaVale McGeee at center in place of Pachulia and Patrick McCaw started at guard. Klay Thompson moved into Green’s forward position. The Warriors got off to a good start and never trailed in the game. The Warriors moved the ball well and recorded 38 assists on 52 field goals. Steve Kerr used his bench quite a bit, and they came through in a big way. They had 7 players in double figures.

The Warriors, behind Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, JaVale McGee, and Patrick McCaw finished the first quarter leading 33-25. The Warriors continued to play well. The Clippers could not catch the Dubs. Blake Griffin played well and was a force as he kept the Clippers close. However, the Dubs responded to every challenge and finished the half leading by 10 points 65-55. KD Led the Dubs with 17. Steph had 12, Klay 10, McCaw 8, McGee 6, and James Michael McAdoo had 6, too. Griffin had 16, JJ Redick kicked in with 13, Jamal Crawford added 8 and DeAndre Jordan had 9 for LA.

The third quarter belonged to the Warriors. As they have done so many times this year, the Warriors outscored the Clippers 39-32 in the quarter. They led 104-87 heading into the fourth and final period. Curry performed his magic once more. He made a three-pointer and another 3 point play when he made a layup and converted a free-throw after being fouled on the play. He also made two-point shots, too. JaVale McGee, Andre Iguodala, and James Michael McAdoo all made key buckets.  Andre made a big 3-point shot as well as a bucket as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter. The Warriors increased the lead to twenty-one 122-103 late in the quarter. The Clippers rallied as they forced the Dubs to commit three turnovers in a row and came within seven points of tying the game. Durant drained a three, and that was followed by a Thompson 3-pointer that iced the victory. The Clippers were toast. The Dubs win 133-120.

Game Notes and stats- The Clippers last beat the Warriors on Christmas Day, 20014. Since that time the Dubs have won nine straight. The Warriors have won 12 of the last 13 games. The Warriors improve to 43-7 while the Clippers drop to 31-19. The Clippers were without guard Chris Paul. Paul has an injured thumb and will be out for about another six weeks.

The game was televised on TNT and former NBA star, Charles Barkley, now a commentator, not only predicted but “guaranteed” the Clippers would win. Wrong again, Chuck.

Now for the stats. The Dubs took 19 more shots in the game than the Clippers. Golden State made 52 field goals on 99 attempts. The Clippers attempted 80 and made 40. What kept the Clippers in the game was free throws.The Clippers made 30 of 39 free throws. The Dubs had 18 freebies and made 15. The Warriors outrebounded the Clippers 46-37. They had 10 steals and two blocked shots. Steph Curry had a double-double with 29 points and 11 assists. KD also had a double-double. Durant’s line was 26 points,10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Klay Thompson finished with 21. JaVale McGee knocked down 11, and 8 boards and one blocked. Andre Iguodala had 13 points,4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Ian Clark, getting some playing time, added 11 and McAdoo had 10 points and 9 rebounds. The Clippers’ Blake Griffin was a beast on offense. He scored 31 and had 8 rebounds. Austin Rivers had 18, Redick 17 and Jamal Crawford scored 21. Former Warrior, Mo Speights, scored 8 and he had 3 assists and 6 boards.

The Warriors travel to Sacramento to face the Kings Saturday night at the Golden 1 Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.